Level 5 Syringe GunOn Hit: Gain up to +3 health-2 health drained per second on wearer

“

This new weapon ... will draw health from enemies each time a syringe hits -- making it especially useful as a weapon to retreat away from the fight while staying alive.

— Blutsauger publicity blurb

”

The Blutsauger is an unlockable primary weapon for the Medic. It is similar in appearance to the Syringe Gun, but has a solid, partially team-colored and pill-shaped tank in place of the syringe canister. A team-colored heartbeat monitor line is painted on its sides. The muzzle and the small stripe nearby it are faintly glowing.

This gun fires syringe projectiles at a speed of 990 Hammer units/61.88 feet per second, similarly to the default Syringe Gun. Additionally, whenever a projectile hits an enemy player, three health is replenished to the player – indicated by a team-colored medical cross appearing over a Medic – and a green '+3' appears on the bottom of the HUD. (However, successful hits on a disguised Spy do not display the '+3'.)

As compensation, the Blutsauger reduces a Medic's passive healing ability by up to 2 HP per second, so a Medic that has recently taken damage will regenerate 2 HP/sec, at a maximum of 4 HP/sec. Like the Syringe Gun, the Blutsauger's projectiles have a travel time and follow an arced trajectory, so it is necessary to lead a moving target and aim upward to compensate for distance. The further an enemy is, the more one has to aim upwards.

Unused content

Two team-colored needle models exist for the Blutsauger.

Trivia

Blutsauger means "bloodsucker" or "vampire" in German. According to German folklore, the Blutsauger was a boneless, vampire-like creature that converted its victims by tricking them into eating soil from the Blutsauger's grave.